I always wanted to visit Scandinavian countries but it seemed so expensive that we thought that probably we need to get a loan to spend a week there! But, in the end this was probably one of the cheapest trips we went to. Really, it is possible to visit Sweden with not so big amount of money. Of course, it depends on what kind of traveler you are.
We choose Gothenburg, town on the south. First impression of the city was OK, nothing spectacular but very nice and of course worth of visit. It is not so big so in two days you can manage to see all of the interesting sights in the center. As we had one week to spend there we decided to visit some of the Islands of the southern archipelago. Check out where we went and how we spent our first week in Scandinavia. It was great!
If you will be reading brochures about Gothenburg almost everywhere you will find something about Haga. It is nice, short street with lots of small coffees and shops. It was nice to walk around but for me it wasn’t that special.
People from Sweden are crazy about sweets. In every supermarket you can find all kind of candy and cakes. They love their fika more than anything, Time for coffee and a piece of cake is an important part of every day.
In Gothenburg you can find lots of parks. Great park that you should visit is Slottsskogen. It is very interesting because there you can wander around through the ZOO, which is free, and take a look at the animals that are enjoying the fresh air. Moose is our favorite, that clumsy big animal.
This is Fiskkyrkan (Fish church), one of the sights that you will also find in all the books about Gothenburg. From the outside it looks great but as you can see from the inside it is just another market. Good thing is that in this building (that used to be church) you can find restaurant where you can taste fresh seafood.
We were very excited about visiting the coast. It was pretty cold because the wind was blowing all the time but it didn’t ruin our trip at all. It was almost dark so taking black and white photos was a great idea, I love these three photos I shared with you…
When we started to plan this trip one of the first things that we decided is to visit the islands. Here in Croatia we have almost 1000 of them and they are really beautiful so we were very exciting to see how those places look in Sweden.
During the week in Gothenburg we visited Brännö, Styrsö and Donsö. It is very easy to reach them with a ferry that goes there almost every half an hour from Saltholmen. On those islands cars are not allowed so it was even more beautiful to walk around.
It was just starting to rain while we were climbing up to see this great view over the islands. It looks so different to Adriatic coast – shape of the big grey stones that are scattered in the sea is really weird. Who knows what is it like on a sunny day? Maybe one day we will find out.
This is one of my favorites. These colorful boats give this bad weather a bit of optimism. It was nice just to stand there for a while looking at swans that are easily floating on the surface of the cold water.
During the night take a walk to the harbor. Illuminated boats are giving special touch to this city. You can visit museum of ships where 19 boats are waiting for you.
Here are a few TIPS how to save some money:
– Try to find and rent a room in the house or in the apartment where you will be able to cook at home. It is really expensive to eat outside. Paying 20 euros for pizza, or 10 euros for sandwich is crazy even if you have a lot of money.
– Prices in supermarkets are just a bit higher then here in Croatia so it is the best place to buy food and drinks.
– If you want to drink a beer you can buy it for less than 2 euros in those special liquor stores (System bolaget) and in a bar you will pay no less than 5 euros.
– Public transport in Gothenburg is really great. You can get trams and buses all the time, during the day and night. One way ticket costs more than 3 euros but they have three day tickets that cost 17 euros and once you validate it you can use it in buses, trams and on a ferry.
Your story: Did you visit Gothenburg? What did you like the most?
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Thank you for this interesting and informative piece (and for the follow too 🙂 )
I would love to visit Stockholm and the Swedish islands, but had always heard, as you say, that it’s expensive. There’s always a way if you want to do something, isn’t there?
Happy travels! 🙂
Jo, thank you for reading! Sweden is really great country. It is expensive but it’s also true that if you want to do something, somehow you will find a way! 🙂